Did you know God’s word reveals the precise date of Christ’s crucifixion? Believe it or not, the Old Testament prophets, left clues as to the exact timing of Christ being ‘cut off’; a euphemism for crucifixion as described in Daniel chapter nine, verses, 25 thru 26. Yet Jewish Rabbi’s choose to avoid studying this ninth chapter of Daniel, in fear of validating Jesus Christ as Messiah. Are you ready to discover the exact date of Christ’s crucifixion, as foretold in the Old Testament books of Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Daniel? Dust off your calculator as we are going to do some math in this exciting broadcast…
Here is a complete transcript of the podcast (below)…
Friend, today we will continue our study of the book of Daniel. In previous broadcasts we’ve discussed chapters two and seven, do you remember that? We talked about King Nebuchadnezzar’s metallic figure that represented sequential world empires which would oppose the Jewish people throughout history and culminate in a world government that the antichrist will utilize for domination. But this figure would be smashed to smithereens by a stone cut out of a mountain without hands, and this represents God’s kingdom, starting with the soon coming millennial reign of Christ and it shall never be conquered by any world empire, built by the hands of men. Then we discussed the strange creature of Daniel chapter seven which also embellished chapter two, providing more detail concerning the sequence and manner that these world empires would rise and fall. Chapter Seven also describes a little horn, being the Antichrist who will one day rise up from within the boundaries of these world empires and eventually rule the world for a very short time. But bear in mind of course these events will not be viewed by the church because God’s focus in the Book of Daniel is primarily the Jewish people. But what is little known to many is that God gave Daniel a precise countdown of the exact number days it would take for the Messiah or Jesus as we identify him, to come on the scene.
Ok, so for all you math’s whiz’s out there we’re going to get into some serious detail today. It’s time to dust off my old engineering calculator as I hope to reveal to you that Christ’s crucifixion was predicted by the Prophet Daniel to the very day, yes friend, to the very day. Do you believe that? There’s a reason that Jewish Rabbi’s in training, are not allowed to study this 9th chapter of Daniel, because if they did, they would put 2 and 2 together so to speak and finally figure out who the true Messiah is…but I’m getting ahead of myself.
1Now regarding this strange term, Daniels 70th week, what on earth does it all mean? Well let’s remind ourselves of a bit of history. Remember when the Israel fell to disobedience and was then exiled by the Babylonian Empire? Few people realize, this exile was forewarned by the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah. Our God is a merciful God friend, and He gives us plenty of warning when He’s going to do something. Israel unfortunately had repeatedly forsaken their God and whenever anyone does so, there will be consequences and these consequences won’t be positive by any means.
Let us now read from the Book of Jeremiah in chapter 25, v 11-12 and here’s God’s final decree of judgment upon them. God says, “ This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. 12 “Then, after the seventy years of captivity are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his people for their sins,” says the Lord. “I will make the country of the Babylonians a wasteland forever. “
And again there were warnings from the prophet Isaiah that re-iterates Jeremiah’s dire admonition in Isaiah 13:17 (KJB) – “Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, Which shall not regard silver; And as for gold, they shall not delight in it.” then in Isaiah 44:28 (KJV) 28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, And shall perform all my pleasure: Even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; And to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.”
It was this decree friend, by King Cyrus that later enabled Israel to rebuild the temple once more after it was destroyed by the invading and marauding Babylonians under the leadership of King Nebuchadnezzar. Israel yearned for the restoration of their beautiful Temple, and God in his mercy would allow them to do so. So what did the prophet Daniel do when he realized these prophecies of Jeremiah and Isaiah, were about to come to pass? He started to pray, as anyone would and basically Daniel chapter nine documents Daniels travail and intercessory prayer for his beloved but rebellious nation of Israel. Daniel asked the Lord to forgive the Israelite’s and return them to their land. But as is sometimes the case, judgment was already set and prayer could do nothing about it in this instance. There’s a time for repentance friend but that time had long gone for Israel and those are some of the saddest words anyone can hear, “the time to repent has passed.” Only judgment would now ensue.
Now, while Daniel was praying, the angel Gabriel appeared and came to reveal some secrets from the throne of heaven. This friend was the real angel Gabriel, not the imposter who claimed to have visited, Ubul Kasim or the prophet Mohammed, the founder of Islam in the Arabian Desert. No this angel Gabriel had a message of encouragement for Daniel. This is what Gabriel said in Dan 9:24. 24Seventy weeks (or 490 years) are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”
So Dan 9:24 describes in details what would happen when the Messiah appears. But few realize this passage describes the coming Messiah. So, what did he do? He finished the transgression, he made an end to our sins by his death, burial and resurrection, he made reconciliation for our iniquity and he brought our everlasting righteousness by what He did for us on the cross. For those who put faith in Him, according to 2 Cor 5:19, Jesus brought in permanent reconciliation for us, so this was fulfilled literally when Jesus died on the cross…Can I get an amen?
So what’s revealed in this passage is absolutely fascinating and testimony to the accuracy of God’s prophetic predictions through the prophet Daniel. God gave the prediction of when Jesus would walk the earth the first time and interestingly because this passage is so accurate Rabbi’s in training are told to avoid this chapter because friend, if they studied it in detail they would soon come realize the precise date of when their Messiah Jesus would be introduced to the earth and I will explain this shortly.
But let’s read on further for a more specific outline of when exactly this mysterious Messiah will appear the first time…Daniel 9:25–26 (KJB):
25 “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the decree to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks (or 69 years): the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks the Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”
Now, for your information, one week in this scriptural context, represents 7 years. So in direct answer to Daniel’s prayer and concern for his people Gabriel outlined that from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah appears the first time, will be seven weeks or 49 years, plus another 62 weeks, that’s a total of 69 weeks or 483 years. Now the first 49 years of this passage is the time it took for Nehemiah to build the walls of Jerusalem and he required one in ten Israelis to build a house in Jerusalem which was fulfilled in the 49 years after building the wall.
But Friend, did you get that, in the Book of Daniel, God revealed that the Messiah would appear in 69 weeks, or 483 years from the time of this decree to rebuild Jerusalem! It stresses that the Messiah would be ‘cut off’ at that time, which is surely representative of the Christ’s crucifixion. So if we put on our Sherlock Homes hat right now, it would be wise to find out exactly when this decree went forth and guess what, the scholars have done this job for us already. It should be noted here that Neh 2:1, records the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem occurred in the month of Nissan in the 20th year of the reign of the Persian King, Artaxerxes. Now if you dust off the old Encyclopedia Britannica and crack it open, you’ll discover that King Ataxerxes Longimanus, was put on the throne in July 465 BC, so by deduction, we know that 20 years later, the decree would have been given precisely in July of 445 BC. But knowing this decree went out in the month of Nissan (which is equivalent to our months of March and April) it would place the precise date of the decree to be 444 BC. Hold that thought friend and remember that date,… 444BC.
So, in order for us to figure out the precise day when the Messiah was cut off or crucified, we need to convert to Jewish days first. So bear with me. If we multiply 483 x 360 which is the number of days in a Jewish year, we get 173,880 days. If we convert this back to the Gregorian calendar having 365.25 days per year, we get 476 years, which is a reduction of 7 years from the original decree that Daniel outlined in Jewish years. From the Month of Nissan or March when the decree went out, which was March 14th 444 BC plus 476 years for our Gregorian calendar, the precise date of Jesus crucifixion, as prophesied by the book of Daniel, would be in the months of mid march to mid April, in drum roll….32 AD! Wow friend. Even down to the very month, when we celebrate Easter, symbolic of the resurrection of our Lord, it coincides precisely with the months of March and April, where Easter falls each year. Easter’s timing is of course related to the Passover which is moveable feast and determined by the moon’s equinox but I digress. ..But let me reiterate here, I will say it again; Jesus crucifixion is prophesied in the book of Daniel down to the very day! Now some scholars put this date at 33 AD and some 32 AD, depending on the number of leap years you include in the calculation but Dr. Ken Johnson is bold enough to place the crucifixion on April 6th of 32 AD precisely. The Bible Knowledge Commentary for example puts it between March 5th and March 30th of 33AD but Friend, the accuracy of God’s word is simply astounding to say the least.
Now let us return to one of the key markers of the ends time spoken of by the prophet Daniel. The beginning of the tribulation period, which the Church will never see is marked by the signing of a covenant between the Jewish people and the Antichrist and is mentioned in Daniel 9:27. Let’s read it now:
Daniel 9:27 (KJV 1900) 27 “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
Friend this verse describes the 70th week of Daniels prophecy. It’s the 70th and final seven, describing the Great tribulation period. The Antichrist will make a peace covenant with Israel for one week (or seven years) guaranteeing Israel’s safety in the land. Israel will sign this contract with the Antichrist but don’t forget that this promise of ‘peace and safety’ will not be fulfilled, because 1st Thessalonians 5:3 warns ,”3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they (Israel) shall not escape.” These seven years will begin immediately after the Rapture. The antichrist breaks this covenant “in the middle of the week” (or 3 ½ years) into the tribulation period. So friend that means for a brief time, 3.5 years in fact, Israel will be worshiping again in the Temple once more. Israel’s temple will be rebuilt and guess what, the Temple institute in Israel is right now drawing up plans and purchasing land for this future temple. The ornaments are being forged behind closed doors and even the sacrificial Red Heifers have been gathered to cleanse and purge the land prior to the construction of the temple.
Friend, the reason God sets this 70th and final week apart from the rest is because there’s a gap between the 69th and 70th week and that gap was for the birth of the church. 2000 years have transpired since the Messiah was cut off in crucifixion but he will soon return for his beloved church prior to the commencement of this 70th week, better known as the tribulation period. Once again the message from Daniel is Judeo centric and concerns the Jewish people primarily. These prophecies surround Israel and the empires that persecuted it. The church wasn’t born until Acts chapter 2 and that’s why Daniel is silent concerning the church. Friend, Jesus is coming soon…be ready.
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